


The Common Thread (Or, Expect the Unexpected: Surviving Your Family)

by rusting_roses



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Ensemble Cast, Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-04
Updated: 2012-01-04
Packaged: 2017-10-28 23:10:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/313204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rusting_roses/pseuds/rusting_roses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Common Thread (Or, Expect the Unexpected: Surviving Your Family)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Laughing_Phoenix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laughing_Phoenix/gifts).



_The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life_

Pike let the sun warm his shoulders, a summer breeze curling through the branches of a nearby tree. He stared at the PADD in his hand, which was opened to a document labeled _Official Personnel Request for Federation Constitution Class Ship NCC-1701, Enterprise, Captain James T. Kirk._

He squinted up at the sun, a wide and easy smile growing on his face as he gazed at the names. Laughing, a rich sound that took even him by surprise escaped him, and he signed his name with a flourish at the bottom— _Approved_.

God, the universe was never going to know what hit it.

~*~

  


_Sharing Diseases_

"I think I'm going to _die_ ," Sulu moaned, sniffling, and coughed miserably. He scooted down, pulling the covers even more tightly around himself. "It's not fair. McCoy can keep your eyes from bleeding if you catch a case of Andorian shingles, but he can't do a damn thing about the common cold." He sneezed three times in succession, paused, and then sneezed twice more for good measure. "I hate you _so much_."

Chekov, curled up in the opposite bed, made a little moaning noise of his own. "Me?" he demanded as much as his sore throat would allow him. It was almost completely swallowed by his thick Russian accent. There was a rustling of sheets as he twisted underneath the covers "You pushed us into the river!"

"Because you were distracted! I was knocking you away from the phaser blast!"

"Because I collect the data you were supposed to! You were examining plants!"

"Because I thought I saw something move! I was protecting you!"

"Because—"

"Because you are both _idiots_ who wandered off by yourselves." Bones snapped, prepping his hypo and roughly stabbing both of them with a decongestant and general pain and fever reliever. Within moments, they were both confessing their undying love for the good doctor, who simply sighed and rubbed at the incipient headache. "I don't get paid enough to deal with this."

~*~

  
 _And Toothpaste_

Uhura rummaged through her bag, starting to frown, before going through all her belongings. "Gaila?" Uhura called, neatly arranging everything on the bed and wondering how she could have possibly forgotten toothpaste. The last thing she wanted to do after a long night of dancing was go back down to the convenience store and see if it was open so she could get her damn toothpaste.

"What?" Gaila shouted back from the bathroom, sounding strangely slurred. Gaila had only had two drinks; she could normally hold her liquor far better than that.

"Can I borrow your toothpaste? I can't find mine. I'll get some in the morning, but I don't want to go down to the store right now."

Gaila stuck her head out of the bathroom, scarlet curls cascading over one shoulder. She had a toothbrush wedged in her mouth, foam on her lips. Well, that explained the slurring at least. In one hand was her toothpaste, and Gaila held it out to Uhura.

"Thanks," Uhura said absently. "Budge over." She came to stand next to Gaila, running water over her brush before putting on toothpaste, and—"Hey! This is mine!"

Gaila treated her to a snowy-white grin that only _looked_ innocent. "Is it?" she asked, and Uhura ground her teeth, squeezing out toothpaste onto her brush with considerably more violence than was necessary. Uhura held her tongue, though; part of living with Gaila was learning to pick and choose one's battles.

Besides. Gaila now owed her one, and she knew it.

~*~

  
 _Coveting One Another's Desserts_

"No," Scotty finally said decisively, Scottish burr rumbling in his words. "I'll not go higher than two bars of chocolate for the next time you get a box of macadamia nut cookies."

Sulu crossed his arms over his chest. "Then forget about it. I want two bars of chocolate and half of the shortbread you make next, or there's no deal." He grinned and leaned back in his chair, triumphant when Scotty scowled at him, brow knitting in irritation.

"You're getting greedy," Uhura said from beside him, where she was in fierce negotiations with Chekov for his chocolate-covered coffee beans. The current stakes were a bag and a half of the divine mixture for half an hour's worth of illegal real-time transmission next time they dropped out of warp near the sol-system.

"I'd have made him go for the full batch of shortbread plus the two bars of chocolate myself," Rand said idly, tongue peeking out of her mouth as she worked on fixing up a nail that had gotten chipped at the edge. She blew on it gently and examined it critically for a second or two before adding, "Chocolate bars are replaceable. Almost every planet these days is producing at least a halfway decent chocolate bar. Macadamia nuts, though..." she trailed off expansively and shrugged, blue eyes glittering wickedly.

Chapel, who was on the floor next to her, feet on the couch and PADD in her hands, smacked Rand's leg lightly. "Stop trying to egg them on. Besides, aren't you supposed to be begging for some of my latest batch of thumbprint cookies?"

Rand looked at her sharply, affecting an injured look. "You made thumbprint cookies and didn't tell me?" she demanded. "Unfair, completely and totally unfair!" Chapel's mouth twisted a little as she attempted to conceal a grin. It failed, and Rand made an outraged sound before elbowing Chapel. "Some girlfriend you are!" Chapel just snickered.

That made McCoy look up from where he was stretched out on the next couch over, the negotiations finally stirring his interest. "What kind of jam did you use for the cookies?" he asked.

"Raspberry," Chapel reported. McCoy's eyes lit up at the admission, as Chapel had known they would. Desserts involving peaches and raspberries were the best way to his heart. "Let me out of my shift an hour early today and I'll give you half of them." She ignored the gasp of betrayal from Rand. "Do we have a deal?"

"Done," McCoy agreed, returning to his book.

The others laughed when Rand let out another little shriek and promised to wring Chapel's neck if she didn't make more soon. Laughing, the nurse warded off the other woman's attacks and pressed a kiss to her cheek before whispering something in her ear. Rand blushed scarlet all at once, and Uhura and Chekov let out little catcalls—at least, until Chekov attempted to snag some of Scotty's shortbread while he was distracted, managing to shove two into his mouth before the engineer caught on and let out his own yell of dismay, which sounded remarkably like Rand's.

It was pretty much then that things devolved into chaos.

~*~

  
 _Hiding Shampoo_

The thing that got to Chekov was that, really, it was the oldest trick in the book—and he _still_ fell for it.

Besides, he'd been meaning to requisition more shampoo. Really. He couldn't be blamed for the fact that First Officer Spock caught a variant of the human influenza that played havoc with his unusual genetic background. He certainly couldn't be blamed for the fact that since Scotty had to step up, Chekov had to help with some of Scotty's engineering work, either. Most of all, he _definitely_ couldnn't be held responsible for Scotty's latest batch of rotgut, which Scotty, Chekov, McCoy, Uhura and Gaila indulged in, for one reason or another. McCoy, for instance, hadn't once stopped bitching about the fact that certain half-Vulcans with a 40˚ C temperature had still tried insisting that he was completely fine and capable of reporting for duty.

Perhaps, however, Chekov could be blamed for guiltily stealing Sulu's shampoo that first night, Chekov telling himself, "Just this once!"

He could certainly be blamed for realizing, five nights later, that Sulu had hidden his shampoo bottle in retaliation.

He could _definitely_ be held responsible for spending ten minutes tracking the errant bottle down just to prove a point and using it one last time, swearing that yes, _really_ he was going to message acquisition. Really.

The hair dye that turned his golden brown locks bright blue?

That was all Sulu.

~*~

  
 _Borrowing Money_

"Can I borrow some credits? I forgot my credit chip at home," Uhura asked, sounding frustrated when she asked McCoy for the favor. "I'd have sworn I double checked my pockets and everything, but I can't find it anywhere!"

McCoy raised a brow. "Are you sure it wasn't stolen?" Each time the system was upgraded, someone seemed to find a new way around it in order to get their hands on illegal credits. It was a never-ending cycle that never failed to make him scowl.

It was making Uhura scowl right now too. "It better not have been," she growled threateningly, then shook her head. "I probably just forgot to pull it out of my pocket last night. It's probably in my jacket from last night. I don't normally have to make sure I have it on hand around the _Enterprise_ , so..."

When McCoy continued to raise a brow, Uhura rolled her eyes. "I'm good for it, I promise," she said in her most saccharine voice, the one that usually had Jim debating the merits of hiding behind his chair on the bridge. "As soon as I track down my card I'll transfer the credits over. I promise," she repeated.

McCoy relented suddenly and laughed, sharp and bright. "That's exactly what Jim said the first time he asked to borrow my credit trip too, and Jim _still_ owes me a hundred credits from our first year in the Academy. Though I admit, you're just a touch more responsible than him. Besides, short of emptying my account, I doubt anything you do can top his escapades."

Uhura hid a smile. "Just a touch? Better keep a close eye on me then," she murmured in a voice low enough that McCoy had to lean forward a bit to hear. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, leaving the faint scent of perfume and an imprint of her mouth in red lipstick.

McCoy watched Uhura sashay off, dark hair a waterfall down her back.

Then, mint julep in hand, he got up to follow her.

~*~

  
 _Locking Each Other Out of Our Rooms_

"Gaila! Open this fucking door before I shove you out an airlock! I am seriously going to _kill you_!"

~*~

  
 _Inflicting Pain and Kissing to Heal it in the Same Instant_

"Yes," Chapel agreed all too patiently, "but I also know that there are times when you'd cut off your nose to spite your face."

Rand glared furiously at her girlfriend for that. "God, I hate you so much right now!"

Chapel paused in her work for just an instant, long enough to treat Rand to a Look. "For being right, or for saying it?" Then she gave a put-upon sigh, and pressed an apologetic kiss to the corner of Rand's mouth. "I don't want to argue about this right now. Come on, let's go get dinner."

Hopefully, it wasn’t an ending, but a beginning.

~*~

  
 _Loving_

Spock's fingers brushed against Jim's temple idly while the man in question hummed tunelessly beneath his breath. Weariness tugged at their bones, trying to drag them down into sleep, but Jim, at least, was far too comfortable to allow it to happen. Rarely did Spock agree to relax like this with him; Spock, who often felt idleness was a waste and preferred to spend free hours immersing himself in one of his many interests.

It was something Jim could appreciate, more often than not. Being the Captain of the _Enterprise_ usually came with rather more paperwork and commands and organization than Jim had been led to believe, so there was something pleasant about Spock keeping him company as they worked, even if on two wholly different subjects. It was the time together that was important, and the conversations and debates they took such enjoyment in, and yes, even the sex—the incredible and oft-performed sex—that was more important.

Still, there was something to be said for this quiet communion in the dim light, curled up comfortably next to each other. They weren't working or speaking, or even companionably reading side-by-side, which they'd done often enough. Instead, Spock was tucked in tight against Jim's body, skin just cool enough to keep from dropping into sleep completely, their quilt mostly tucked around Spock with the remnants thrown casually over Jim's shoulder and waist.

Jim pressed a kiss to Spock's sharp cheekbone, smiling against Spock's skin when the half-Vulcan sighed and arched into the touch. Jim didn't make a move to turn it into something sexual, however, just let his body go completely lax as Spock began running his fingers up and down Jim's spine.

Jim's smile widened, and he closed his eyes, letting the familiarity of Spock's body against his own keep his troubles away for a little while longer.

~*~

  
 _Laughing_

Off duty, Jim encouraged a certain amount of informality. He didn't want to _be_ 'The Captain' all the time any more than everyone else wanted to _treat_ him as 'The Captain' all the time. Furthermore, he loved hanging out with his friends-come-family when the opportunity presented itself and didn't want people to be constantly worried that he was going to hold small indiscretions against them, especially those he cared for

 _Still,_ he thought a little wryly, as he stepped into rec room three and his friends immediately burst out laughing at him for no apparent reason, _sometimes it's better to quit while you're ahead._

Very wisely, he decided a strategic retreat was in order.

~*~

  
 _Defending_

Jim raised his head, staring around the bridge without seeing everyone. He didn't need to. There was Spock at his back, face serene and utterly unshakable. Uhura, the inky sweep of her hair over her shoulder unable to disguise the stubborn set of her mouth behind her headset. Sulu, fingers never stopping their movement over the weapons controls even as he flashed a brief and dangerous smile over his shoulder. Chekov, brilliant and warm, mind racing through all of the possibilities and ready to deploy them at a glance. Gaila, smoothly working on one of the broken computers with steady hands and a fierce concentration.

Then beyond the bridge—Giotto, ready and at arms to keep their enemies from edging closer. Bones, caustic and clever, refusing to relinquish the lives of his friends and family to Death's greedy fingers, standing as a guardian against Its cold grip. Scotty, urging more than could ever be imagined from the already straining engines and keeping them going a little further, a little faster. Janice, ever the consummate professional, keeping everything running smoothly without so much as chipping her perfectly manicured nails. Chapel, kind and sweet but with a spark of steel running beneath it all that let her face any wound or disease without flinching.

"Are you with me?" he asked them, heart aching.

"To the death.

~*~

  
 _And Trying to Figure Out the Common Thread that Bound Us All Together._

The gold of Earth's sun slanted through the high atmosphere, painting everything in an ethereal glow; almost too bright, without the slightest trace of clouds. The dark letters of _NCC-1701_ gleamed while the metal practically blazed, freshly cleaned from all the dirt and grit and smoke that had stained her outer hull. She looked glorious under the unrelenting light, warm and sharp.

They looked at the _Enterprise_ and let her call them home.

~*~

_The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck_


End file.
